Not yet in pole position, but the Pole’s back
ROBERT Kubica can barely use his right arm, but a fortnight today in Melbourne, he will start the Australian Grand Prix and complete one of the most remarkable comebacks in the history of sport. It is eight years since the Pole was robbed of the best season of his career by the accident that might have cost him his life. On February 6, 2011, during the Ronde di Andora rally, his Skoda Fabia left the road at high speed near San Sebastiano church in Testico, northern Italy. The crash barrier pierced the cockpit and left him with a partially severed right forearm and numerous fractures. Two teams of doctors performed emergency surgery to save him. In all, he has been operated on more than 20 times. His co-driver was unscathed. How much might Kubica have achieved by now, not least if Ferrari had followed through on the pre-agreement he signed to compete for them in 2012? Kubica won one race and reached the podium 12 times. “One positive thing about all this is that I learned how powerful the brain is,” he says. “Often limitations stem from the mind rather than your physical aspect. You cannot overcome anything if your body sets your limitations. “For living and for driving it would be easier if I had not had the accident. I do not have the same comfort as before but I’m working hard to keep the limitation to a minimum. “I never thought I would be back in Formula One or that I wouldn’t. I never shut the door or knowingly kept it open. Once sufficiently recovered, he tried out a DTM touring car at Valenciat. “I enjoyed being on the circuit when I was focused on my work,” he says. “I was very fast. But I didn’t like the feelings I had when I got back to my hotel – not at all. You go to bed and you think. That is why I went back to rallying instead, competing in the world championship for three years. “It was too hard to be on a Formula One track. I was not ready for that. It opened the pain. Actually, I was upset I was fast because, in some ways, it would have been easier for me if I was one second off the pace and could say, ‘That’s it, I had my career’. I could have helped young drivers or found something within motorsport that would give me satisfaction. “For a long period it was hard for me even to watch Formula One. But rallying kept my mind busy. You survive by making one step at a time, being realistic in your targets, thinking about the near future not three months or a year ahead.” By 2017, Kubica was ready for a return to the Grad Prix environment and tested for Renault, then Williams,. The paddles on his steering wheel have been switched from right to left with his right hand offering little more than friction as he turns the wheel. “Will I be better? Possibly. I have more experience because I’m older and have been through difficult situations. On the other side, I have not been racing for a long time. I’m like a new young driver. “To be out for eight years is not ideal but to be back is better. I have the knowledge from the past. I have done it before and I’m pretty confident.” | Mail On Sunday.